DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: March 22, 2022

World Water Day

Tags: Important Days

World Water day is celebrated every year on 22 March  as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

• A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

• The  water day celebration started in 1993 after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in 1992.

• Theme of the World water days 2022 :Groundwater: Making Invisible Visible.

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N Biren Singh sworn as Manipur CM

Tags: Popular State News

Nongthombam Biren Singh of Bhartiya Janta Party(BJP) was sworn in for the second term as the Chief Minister of Manipur on 21 March 2022. He was administered the oath of office by the Manipur Governor La Ganeshan .

• N. Biren Singh was the Chief Minister of Manipur from 2017-22 and  was reelected form his assembly constituency of  Heingang  at the recently held Manipur  legislative assembly election  2022.

• BJP won 32 seats in the 60 member Manipur Legislative Assembly election held  in two phases on 28 February and 5 March 2022.

• N.Biren Singh before joining politics was a footballer and a journalist . He played for the Border Security Force (BSF) football team.

• He is the 12th Person to be the Chief Minister of Manipur . The first Chief Minister was M.Koireng Singh.

No country met WHO air quality standard in 2021

Tags: Science and Technology

Not a single country managed to meet the World Health Organisation's (WHO) air quality standard in 2021. In a survey conducted in 6475 cities in 117 countries by IQAir, a Swiss pollution technology company, showed that pollution and smog has increased in some cities of the world after a COVID-related dip.

The IQAir's annual World Air Quality Report 2021 was  released on 22 March 2022.

The WHO recommends that average annual readings of small and hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 should be no more than 5 micrograms per cubic metre. 

But only 3.4% of the surveyed cities met the standard in 2021, 

As many as 93 cities saw PM2.5 levels at 10 times the recommended level.

Highlights of the IQAir's annual World Air Quality Report 2021 

It has ranked the country on the basis of average PM2.5 concentration (micrograms per cubic metre).  

Most Polluted Country in the world ( in descending order) , Pm 2.5 concentration (micrograms per cubic metre) 

1. Bangladesh     76.9

2. Chad        75.9

3. Pakistan     66.8

4. Tajikistan     59.4

5. India         59.1

Least polluted country/territory in the world (New Caledonia)  3.8

Most Polluted Capital city ( in descending order),micrograms per cubic meter 

1. New Delhi    85.00

2. Dhaka (Bangladesh ) 78.1

3. N'Djamena (Chad)    77.6

4. Dushanbe(Tajikistan)    59.5

5. Muscat(Oman )    53.9

Least polluted capital city  Noumea(New Caledonia ) 3.8

Most Polluted City in the world (in descending order)

1. Bhiwadi (Rajasthan )

2. Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh)

3. Hotan (China)

Kindly also see 7 March 2022 post on Air Pollution and PM 2.5 

Important for Exam 

World Health Organisation (WHO)

It is a specialised agency of the United Nations .

It was set up on 7 April 1948

Headquarters : Geneva , Switzerland 

Director General of WHO: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of .Ethiopia

Major Plane Crash in China, all 132 passenger feared dead

Tags: International News

132 people on board a Eastern China Airlines are feared dead in a plane crash on 21 March 2022. It is the worst air disaster in China since 2010. 

The Boeing 737-800 plane took off from Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan, to the port city of Guangzhou before it crashed in the mountains of southern Guangxi.

• The regulator of the civil aviation sector in India, Director General Civil  Aviation(DGCA) has put Boeing 737s in the country under “enhanced surveillance” after an aircraft of the same model crashed in China. 

• This means that DGCA will deploy its teams to monitor flight procedures, airworthiness and operations of these planes in India. Three airlines, Vistara, SpiceJet and Air India Express, have Boeing 737s on their fleet. There are a total 64 of these planes in the country.  

• Boeing is an American company which manufactures planes for civilian and military purposes.

Common Entrance Test for Central University UG Course

Tags: National News

The University Grant Commission chairman M Jagadesh Kumar  has announced that the admission to the Undergraduate courses in the 45 Central University will now be solely through a Common University Entrance Test (CUET) from the 2022-23 session onwards .

• The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) will be a  computerised exam and will be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in the first week of  July 2022.

• Admission to undergraduate courses in these universities will henceforth be solely based on the CUET score, and Class 12 Board marks will not carry any weightage,

• CUET will carry multiple choice questions based on NCERT textbooks and students will be marked negatively for incorrect answers.  The CUET 2022 will be offered in 13 languages, namely Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu, Assamese, Bengali, Punjabi, Odia and English.

• International students are exempted from CUET.

•  The reserved seats in the Central universities  for SC/ST/ or minorities will also be filled through CUET .

• The exam will be conducted in two shifts. In the first shift, candidates will appear for Section I (languages), two chosen domain subjects and the general test. In the second shift, they will appear for the other four domain subjects and an additional language test, if opted for.

Central University is set up by the Government of India . Some of the famous central University in India are ,JawaharLal Nehru University (JNU),Delhi University, Banaras Hindu University (BHU),Jamia Millia Islamia , Aligharh Muslim University (AMU) etc.

2nd India Australia Virtual Summit Meeting held

Tags: Summits International News

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Scott Morrison held the 2nd India-Australia virtual summit on 21 March 2022. The first virtual summit meeting was held in June 2020.

• Prime Minister Modi thanked Mr. Scott Morrison for the special gesture in returning 29 ancient artefacts to India. These artefacts comprise sculptures, paintings and photographs, across centuries, some dating back to the 9th-10th century, from different parts of India.

• The artefacts include 12th century Chola bronzes, 11th-12th century Jain sculptures from Rajasthan, 12th-13th century sandstone Goddess Mahishasura Mardini from Gujarat, 18th-19th century paintings and early gelatin silver photographs.

Australia

• It is the smallest continent by area  on Earth after Asia, Africa, North America , South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia. 

• It is the 6th largest country in the world after Russia, Canada, China, United States, and Brazil.

• Australia has been called “the Oldest Continent,” “the Last of Lands,” and “the Last Frontier.”

•  Its unique flora and fauna include the only egg-laying mammals on Earth, the  Platypus and Echidna.  It is also famous for its Kangaroos,Koala bears. 

• It is the second driest continent after Antarctica.

• Its highest peak,  Mount Kosciuszko, rises to only 7,310 feet (2,228 meters).

Its Capital : Canberra 

Currency : Australian Dollar 

Prime Minister : Scott Morrison 

The United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the State of  Australia.

Start up get 10 years to convert debt into equity

Tags: Economics/Business

In a major relief to the start up companies in India the government of India has extended the period for converting the debt instrument  issued by the start up into equity shares  to 10 years from the earlier 5 years .

According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry , a convertible note can be converted into equity shares or redeemed within 10 years from its issuance by a startup company.  This is likely to help the start up in raising funds . 

What is a convertible note 

It  is a debt paper issued by a company to its investor for the money it has received from them . The debt is converted into equity shares after a certain time period or is redeemed after a certain time period .

 How it works 

Suppose a startup company A receives Rs 100 from an investor B. The company issues a paper to B saying it has received Rs 100 from B for 5 years and it will pay an interest of 2 percent per annum to B. The paper also mentioned  that company A will return back the Rs 100 amount to B or instead of paying Rs 100 it will convert it into 2  equity shares of the company after 5 years.

For a detailed definition of Start up in India see 16 January 2022 post 

India- Seychelles military exercise LAMITYE starts in Seychelles

Tags: Defence

The 9th Joint Military Exercise LAMITIYE-2022 between the Indian Army and Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) is being conducted at Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA), Seychelles from 22 March to 31 March 22.

• Exercise LAMITIYE-2022 is a biennial training event which is being conducted in Seychelles since 2001. 

•  An Infantry Platoon strength each from both the Indian Army and Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) along with Company Headquarters will be participating in this exercise 

• The Indian Army contingent comprising troops from the 2/3 Gorkha Rifles  group (PIRKANTHI Battalion) arrived at Seychelles on 21 March 2022.

Seychelles 

It is an island republic in the Western Indian ocean . It is a part of Eastern Africa .

Capital : Victoria

President : Wavel Ramkalawan

Currency : Seychelles rupee 

India to import muriate of potash from Israel for Kharif season

Tags: Economics/Business

India is building a stock of fertiliser for the forthcoming Kharif season by importing fertilisers from Israel to ensure sufficient supplies for the coming Kharif season after the disruption of shipments caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

• Indian Potash Ltd has signed a five-year deal to import  600,000 tonnes of  muriate of potash from Israel Chemical Ltd.

• India is a major importer of fertiliser in the world.  India depends on imports for its entire annual consumption of 4 million to 5 million tonnes of potash and it used to import a third of this from Belarus and Russia.

• Landlocked Belarus uses ports in Russia and Lithuania for its exports.Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, shipping routes have been closed off and western sanctions on Moscow, have made it difficult to trade with Russian and Belarusian companies

• India Potash Limited is a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Fertilisers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India. 

Cropping Season In India 

There are broadly three cropping season in India 

• Kharif : These are sown in the rainy season from June/July and harvested in  October /November  

Main crops  Paddy, maize, Soybean, Groundnut,  Cotton, Arhar, Moong , urad

• Rabi : These are sown in the winter season in the month of November/December and harvested in the month of  March/April. 

Main crops are  Wheat , mustard, gram pea, potato, oats, Barley. Sunflower, gram  etc.

• Zaid : These are grown after Rabi season and before the start of Kharif season. Mainly vegetables, water melon, Cucumber  etc are grown 

36th International Geological Congress organised in India

Tags: Summits

The 36th International Geological Congress, organised jointly by the Union Ministry of Mines and  Union Ministry of Earth Sciences with the  Indian National Science Academy from 20-22nd March 2022 on virtual platform with the support of India’s neighbouring countries- Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

It is held every 4 years by the  International Union of Geological Congress.

The Theme of the 36th International Geological Congress was :Geoscience for the next decade: Challenges and Society”

Vacancies in High Court

Tags: National News

According to the Government of India the total vacancies in the 25 High Courts of India was 404 against the sanctioned strength of 1104 Judges in the High Courts as on 11 March 2022.

• The highest vacancy was in the Allahabad High court . It has 67 vacancies out of  the total sanctioned strength of 160(120 are permanent Judges and 40 are additional Judges). It was followed by Bombay and Punjab and Haryana High Court having 36 vacancies each.

• The total strength of the Bombay High Court is 94 (71 permanent Judges and 23 additional Judges) and for Punjab and Haryana High Court it is 85 (64 permanent Judges and 21 additional Judges)

• Only two High Courts, Tripura and Sikkim had no vacancy. Tripura has a sanctioned strength of 5 and Sikkim High Court strength is 3 Judges.

• The Judges of the High Court are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, Governor of the state concerned and Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. 

• Under 217 of the Constitution High Court Judges are appointed and under article 224 of the constitution the President can appoint additional Judges in the High Court for two years.

Important For Exam 

Allahabad High Court has the maximum sanctioned Judges in India. It has 160 sanctioned Judges, 120 permanent Judges and 40 additional Judges. 

Total sanctioned strength of Sikkim High Court is 3 only. All 3 are permanent Judges. It has the least number of Judges in a High Court in India.

Over 31 lakh trees cut in India for developmental projects in 2020-21

Tags: National

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav informed the Parliament on 21 March 2021 that  30,97,721 trees were cut down for construction and development of public infrastructure projects across India in 2020-21, but not a single tree was felled in Delhi. 

The Minister said that the trees were cut under the Forest (Conservation) act 1980 and over 3.6 crore seedlings were planted as part of compensatory afforestation during that year for which Rs 358.87 crore was spent by the government. 

As per the data shared by the minister, the maximum number of trees were cut down in Madhya Pradesh (16,40,532), followed by Uttar Pradesh (3,11,998) and Odisha (2,23,375).

However, the maximum amount of money spent for afforestation was by Gujarat (Rs 52 crore), followed by Uttarakhand (Rs 48.2 crore) and Haryana (Rs 45 crore)